Read more about preparing fish for smoking in Mike Stines' article here.

Use only fresh fish that has been kept clean and cold. Salmon are split with the backbone removed or filleted; bottom fish filleted; herring and smelts are headed and gutted. (Herring are also traditionally split for kippers.) Rinse the fish with running cold water to remove all traces of blood.

Cooking brisket is not something done after coming home from work but is a great weekend cooking project. The brisket could be cooked ahead and reheated. Like most barbecue recipes it is difficult to predict how long a brisket needs to cook. It's done when it's done. This recipe requires advanced preparation.

The most basic brine consists of water and kosher salt, but because the salt solution is absorbed into the fish, it can also be used to carry other flavors with it to enhance the smoked fish. This recipe works well for any fish fillet or whole fish that will be hot-smoked.

First we’ll start off with good old American apple pie. This recipe can be whipped up at the last minute, as can most of these BBQ desserts, and gives you a delicious pie that tastes like Grandma made it. If the crust is charred along the edges, who cares? It’s barbecue, man. Oh yes, my grandma lived in Canada…hence the addition of cheese to the pie. Try it, you’ll love it.

The salsa recipe is courtesy of the National Watermelon Promotion Board and the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee. It is a refreshing change from more traditional salsas, and since it is low in calories and contains virtually no fat, it's a perfect example of the healthy trend in fresh salsas.

This recipe is considered to be the basic one for beans that will be added to chili when it's served--assuming, of course, that you are a "with beans" aficionado. There is a great debate about whether or not to soak the beans overnight. The only simple answer is that if the beans are soaked overnight, they will take about half as long to cook the next day.

Empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing. In Spain, empanadas are usually large and circular in size and are cut into smaller portions for consumption, whereas in South America empanadas are normally small and semi-circular.